Shane 'Shakey' Byrne got his Oulton Park weekend off to the
perfect start by mastering the changing conditions to set the pace
in the opening free practice session of the weekend in Cheshire for
the Be Wiser Ducati team.

The session got underway in wet conditions and initially it was
Tommy Bridewell who became one of the first riders to head to the
top of the timesheets for the Bennetts Suzuki team, however the
first free practice was red flagged when Michael Howarth crashed
out on his return.

When the free practice session resumed Byrne was instantly on
the move, edging ahead of Alastair Seeley on the Royal Air Force
BMW to go fastest with 20 minutes remaining. The pack then
continued to shuffle with Christian Iddon and Leon Haslam both
taking a turn in second position, before the JG Speedfit Kawasaki
held the advantage in the closing minutes.

James Ellison closed in on the second JG Speedfit Kawasaki to
hold fourth position at the chequered flag ahead of Ryuichi
Kiyonari and John Hopkins as five manufacturers were represented in
the top six.

Seeley dropped back to seventh, remaining ahead of rookie Glenn
Irwin on the second Be Wiser Ducati with Howie Mainwaring and
Michael Laverty completing the top ten.